<p>AI techniques play a prominent role in power system management and control. This article describes the power system problems that are likely candidates for AI techniques, and the techniques that have been used on those problems. </p> <p>The electric power industry is continuously searching for ways to improve the efficiency and reliability with which it supplies energy. Although the fundamental technologies of power generation, transmission, and distribution change quite slowly, the power industry has been quick to explore new technologies that might assist its search and to wholeheartedly adopt those that show benefits. </p> <p>This general tendency has held true to form for the various artificial intelligence technologies. General planners, expert systems, artificial neural networks, inductive learning, fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms-researchers have applied almost every form of AI tool in at least prototype form to one or more problem areas in the power industry, and new practical applications of AI appear with increasing frequency. In some cases, AI tools augment or replace existing techniques. In others, AI tools enable solutions to problems previously addressed only by natural intelligence, creating new applications for computers. </p> <p>The dual questions of which problems to attack with AI techniques and which AI techniques to use for a particular problem are abiding ones in the power industry, as they are in many other industries. Problem-centered approaches (problems seeking solutions), tool-centered approaches (solutions seeking problems), and random-matching approaches (justified only by results) have all been employed in the power industry. </p> <p>In this introduction to IEEE Expert's special track on AI in power systems, we'll describe the power system problems that are likely candidates for AI techniques, and the techniques that have been used on those problems. These techniques promise to play an even more prominent role in power system management and control. </p>